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Research Interests:

The lab aims to understand the functions of transcription factors regulating differentiation of neurons from neural stem cells during embryogenesis. Two related mechanisms, pan-neruonal and cell type-specific work together to determine the formation of neurons at the correct time and location. Gene cascades regulating each process as well as how these processes interact with each other are major questions in developmental neurobiology. We focus on analyzing the pan-neuronal aspect of differentiation using spinal cord and retina of frog and Chick embryos using various techniques in developmental biology.

Neurogenin, a basic helix-loop-helix transcription factor is one of the master regulators of neurogenesis. It triggers a cascade of gene expression that leads to differentiation of neurons. Downstream genes in the gene cascade are often sequentially and transiently expressed. Expression of specific genes marks different stages of development. We aim to understand the nature of this transient gene expression. Some of our research interests are (1) to understand how protein stability contributes to transient expression of transcription factors, (2) to identify promoter elements that initiate and terminate gene expression during differentiation and (3) to analyze MTG family proteins, a group of transcription repressors that are differentially expressed in the developing nervous system.

Selected Publications:

(For a comprehensive list of recent publications, refer to PubMed, a service provided by the National Library of Medicine.)

Joshua Aaker , Andrea L. Patineau, Hyunjin Yang, David T. Ewart, Wuming Gong, Tongbin Li, Steven C. McLoon and Naoko Koyano-Nakagawa (2009) Feed-back regulation of Ngn2 activity by MTGR1 is required for progression of neurogenesis. Molecular Cellular Neuroscience, in press

Amin Alishahi, Naoko Koyano-Nakagawa and Yasushi Nakagawa (2009) Regional expression of MTG genes in the developing mouse central nervous system. Developmental Dynamics, 238 , 2095-2102. 

Vue, T.Y, Bluske, K., Alishahi, A., Yang, L.L, Koyano-Nakagawa , N., Novitch, B. and Nakagawa, Y. (2009) Sonic hedgehog signaling controls thalamic progenitor identity and nuclei specification in mice. J. Neurosci, 29 , 4484-97.

Kawakami , Y., Uchiyama, Y., Esteban, C.R., Inenaga, T., Koyano-Nakagawa, N. , Kawakami, H., Marti, M., Kmita, M., Monaghan-Nichols, P., Nishinakamura, R. and Belmonte, J.C.I (2009) . Sall genes regulate region-specific morphogenesis in the mouse limb by modulating Hox activities. Development, 136 , 585-94.

Kintner, C. and  Koyano-Nakagawa, N . (2006) Neurogenesis in the vertebrate embryo. In Essentials of Stem Cell Biology. P139-147. Elsevier Academic Press

Koyano-Nakagawa N, Kintner C. The expression and function of MTG/ETO family proteins during neurogenesis. Dev Biol. 2005 Feb 1;278(1):22-34.

Kintner, C. and Koyano-Nakagawa, N. (2004) Neurogenesis in the vertebrate spinal cord. In Handbook of Stem Cells, Vol. 2, 191-204 (Elsevier).

Schlosser, G., Koyano-Nakagawa, N. ,and Kintner, C. (2002). Thyroid hormone promotes neurogenesis in the Xenopus spinal cord. Developmental Dynamics, 225, 485-498.

Koyano-Nakagawa, N., Kim, J., Anderson, D., and Kintner, C. (2000). Hes6 acts in a positive feedback loop with the neurogenins to promote neuronal differentiation. Development 127, 4203-4216.